CYCLING IN THE CITY

Cycling Trends in NYC

September 2021
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Cycling in the City

Introduction
Methods
A Snapshot
Number of Cyclists
Bicycle Network Totals and Trips per Day

Trends over Time

Daily and Annual Cycling
Citywide Total & Frequent Cyclists
Peer Cities
Commuters by Borough
Cycling by Male and Female
Citi Bike
Midtown
East River Bridges

Appendix
Data Types, Sources, and Limitations
Estimate of Daily Cycling
East River Bridge Average Trips
Midtown Average Trips

Image: Warren St, Manhattan

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INTRODUCTION Cycling in the City

This Cycling in the City brief, which will be updated annually, seeks to
answer two basic questions:

• How frequently are New Yorkers using cycling as a mode of

transportation?

• How is that frequency changing over time?

Over the past two decades, New York City has seen tremendous growth in
cycling, reflecting broad efforts to expand the city’s bicycle infrastructure. In
the mid-1990s, the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT)
established a bicycle program to oversee development of the city’s
fledgling bike network. Since then, DOT has led the charge to build an
expansive network that serves an ever growing number of New Yorkers.
These efforts were accelerated following the release of PlaNYC in 2007,
which set ambitious goals toward creating a more sustainable city. In 2019,
following an increase in cyclist fatalities, the City developed the Green
Wave Plan, which committed substantial resources to further expand
cycling infrastructure throughout the five boroughs.

Also in 2019, DOT launched a Commercial Cargo Bicycle Pilot program,

which incentivizes delivery and logistics businesses to make deliveries via
bicycle.

As part of the Green Wave, DOT installed 29.5 lane-miles of protected bike
lanes in 2020. DOT also installed 10.4 lane miles of dedicated cycling
space in Priority Bicycle Districts—neighborhoods with comparatively high
numbers of cyclist fatalities and severe injuries and few dedicated cycling
facilities.

Image: 6th Ave, Manhattan

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METHODS Cycling in the City

Understanding who is biking in New York City and how often they
ride is incredibly valuable, but cycling demographics and trends are
very challenging to evaluate. Historically, evaluation of cyclist
activity in New York City was centered on counting the number of
bicycles entering and exiting the core. However, cycling has grown
and matured dramatically as a mode of transportation since the first
counts were conducted in 1980. New Yorkers are using bikes for a
much wider variety of trips, making it even more difficult to assess
bicycle use in the City.

In an effort to better understand the widening breadth of cycling,

DOT partnered with the New York City Department of Health and
Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to include a question about cycling in
DOHMH’s annual Community Health Survey. This, question, along
with other questions relating to cycling frequency, cyclist comfort,
and reasons for riding a bicycle, are included in DOT’s annual
Citywide Mobility Survey as of 2017.

By focusing on the cyclist and not the trip, these surveys provide a
more holistic approach to quantifying cycling activity, especially
when used in combination with national surveys, on-going bike
counts, and Citi Bike trip data. Taken as a whole, this information
helps paint a more accurate picture of cycling in New York City
than we have ever had before.

This brief examines these data sources in order to provide a

snapshot of cycling in the city today and an evaluation of trends
over time, providing a better understanding of how cycling has
grown over the past decades.

For details regarding the data presented in this document, please consult the Data
Types, Sources, and Limitations page of the Appendix.

Image: Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn

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METHODS Cycling in the City

CYCLING IN 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic, which affected much of the world in 2020 and continues into 2021, also
disrupted transportation routines. Though physical counts, which are typically conducted by human
enumerators, were extremely limited during much of 2020, DOT was able to count cyclists via automated
counters on bridges and other protected bike lanes. Comparing automated counts from May to December
in 2020 to the same locations and time period a year prior shows the increases in cycling that resulted
from the COVID-19 pandemic.

These data, along with Citi Bike system data, are available at NYC’s Open Data Portal.
May to December 2019 vs 2020 Trip Totals – Selected Automated Counter Locations
8,000,000

7,000,000
800,817
+33% Growth
6,000,000 954,506 in cycling an addition of
5,000,000 597,472 652,497 1.8 million trips at
671,801 these locations between
4,000,000 444,931 1,375,196
2019 and 2020 Automated Count Locations:
924,076 Prior Year Counts Available
3,000,000
1,707,381 • Brooklyn Bridge
1,292,856 • Manhattan Bridge
2,000,000
• Williamsburg Bridge

1,000,000 1,046,534 1,283,540 +63% Growth •

•
Queensboro Bridge

in weekend cycling an
Kent Avenue
• Prospect Park West
444,433 446,824
0
addition of 900,000 • Pulaski Bridge
2019 2020
trips at these locations No Prior Year Comparison
Brooklyn Bridge Manhattan Bridge Williamsburg Bridge
between 2019 and 2020 • 8th Avenue at 50th St
Queensboro Bridge Pulaski Bridge Kent Avenue • Amsterdam Avenue at 86th St
• Columbus Avenue at 86th St
Prospect Park West

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 1
Cycling in the City
A SNAPSHOT

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 A SNAPSHOT Cycling in the City

26% of adult New Yorkers, more than

NUMBER OF CYCLISTS 1.7 million people, ride a bike
Percent of Adult New Yorkers who Ride a Bike (NYC DOHMH) (at least once in past year)

38%
655,000
45%
773,000

27% 17%
26.3% 284,000
1,712,000

Image: 38th St, Manhattan

73.7%
4,715,000 Of those adult New Yorkers, nearly
eight hundred thousand (773,000)
ride a bicycle regularly
Source: Community Health Survey administered by NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Community Health Survey 2020 percentages are weighted to the adult residential population per the (at least several times a month)
American Community Survey, 2019

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 A SNAPSHOT Cycling in the City

BICYCLE NETWORK TOTALS & TRIPS PER DAY

On a typical day, there are

about 530,000 cycling trips
made in New York City

1,375 lane miles of bike

lanes installed in New York
City as of 2020; 74 lane
miles installed in 2020

546 lane miles of protected

bike lanes installed in New
York City as of 2020; 29.5
protected bike lane miles
installed in 2020
Image: 5th Ave, Manhattan

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 2
Cycling in the City
TRENDS OVER TIME

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TRENDS OVER TIME Cycling in the City

DAILY AND ANNUAL CYCLING

The Decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS)
Journey to Work data provide long-term statistics on the number of people
in New York City who use a bicycle as their primary mode of commuting to
work (Daily Bike Commuters).

Commuters typically make two commute trips each day (Daily Bike
Commute Trips) and research shows that commuting represents
approximately one-in-five travel trips in New York City, therefore we can
estimate that there are approximately four additional non-commuting bike
trips for each commuting bike trip (Total Daily Cycling Trips).

Census data is available for 1980, 1990, 2000 and American Community Survey data has been
collected annually since 2005. Because the sample size is smaller for the ACS, a rolling three
year average is used for each year after 2000 (e.g. the 2019 number is based on the 2017, 2018,
and 2019 surveys).
* The latest American Community Survey data that is available comes from 2019.

Image: Southern Blvd, Bronx

Estimates of Daily Cycling Activity by Year *

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Bike Commuters (to work) 23,500 24,400 25,000 26,900 31,500 37,600 41,800 45,000 45,800 48,800 50,900 52,700

Bike Commute Trips (to work) 47,000 48,800 50,000 53,800 63,000 75,200 83,600 90,000 91,600 97,600 101,800 105,400

Total Daily Cycling Trips 240,000 240,000 250,000 270,000 320,000 380,000 420,000 450,000 460,000 490,000 510,000 530,000

Total Annual Cycling Trips (in millions) 87.6 87.6 91.3 98.6 116.8 138.7 153.3 164.3 167.9 178.9 186.2 193.5

+116% Growth +26% Growth +4.7%

in daily cycling between in daily cycling between Average Annual Growth Rate
2009 and 2019 2014 - 2019 of daily cycling (2014-2019)

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TRENDS OVER TIME Cycling in the City

CITYWIDE TOTAL AND FREQUENT CYCLISTS

Since 2009, the NYC DOHMH Community Health Survey has asked
respondents how many times they rode a bike in the past 12 months. Since +4.3% Increase
even the most avid cyclist must begin riding a bike at some point, a clear or approximately 70,000 more New
upward trend in both novice and experienced cyclists illustrates the widening Yorkers rode a bike at least once in
appeal of cycling.
2020 compared to 2019
Number of Adult New Yorkers Who Rode a Bike at Least Once
in the Past Year
1,800,000

1,600,000

1,400,000

1,200,000

1,000,000
NO DATA AVAILABLE

800,000

600,000

400,000

200,000

0
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Image: Kissena Blvd, Queens
At least several times a month At least several times a year

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 TRENDS OVER TIME Cycling in the City

PEER CITIES Cycling to work in NYC has grown more than

Commute to Work - Rolling Three Year Average 5x faster than peer city average (2014-2019)
Comparing NYC to Other Cities *
60,000
Percent Growth: 2014-2019

52,696 +26% New York City

50,893
48,797
50,000 +5% Peer City Average
45,821
44,976

41,789
-21% Los Angeles, CA
40,000 37,589
+1% Portland, OR
Bicycle Commuters

31,540 +16% Chicago, IL

30,000
26,914 +4% San Francisco, CA
24,430 24,988
23,541
20,888
+9% Seattle, WA
19,953
20,000
16,468
+20% Washington DC
+10% Philadelphia, PA
10,000 -4% Minneapolis, MN
+24% Boston, MA
Peer cities include Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Portland,
OR; Seattle, WA; Minneapolis, MN; Chicago, IL; Boston, MA;
0
Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia, PA. * The latest American
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Community Survey data that is available comes from 2019.

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TRENDS OVER TIME Cycling in the City

COMMUTERS BY BOROUGH
As the cycling population grows, the American Community Survey has become a more
reliable source for citywide commuter cycling numbers. When it was first launched in 2005,
the number of commuter cyclists was close to or completely within the margin of error for
the survey, making it difficult to look at growth by borough.
In the past five years the totals for both Brooklyn and Manhattan have grown enough to
stand alone, but totals for the Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island still remain close to the
margin of error. Although year by year numbers may vary, the overall trend shows city-wide
growth.
American Community Survey data has been collected annually since 2005. Because the sample size is smaller for the
ACS, a rolling three year average is used for each year after 2000 (e.g. the 2019 number is based on the 2017, 2018,
and 2019 surveys). * The latest American Community Survey data that is available comes from 2019.

Commute to Work – Rolling 3 Year Average from ACS by Borough *

Image: 4th Ave, Brooklyn
60,000

641 Staten Island

632
50,000 393
6,726 Queens
209 5,795
298 5,401
266 5,972 5,198
40,000
332 6,342
220 6,258 20,092 20,790 Manhattan
19,676
30,000 18,371
171 5,448 17,774
243 15,088
304 296 4,255 12,470
203 3,773 3,764
20,000 3,997 9,613
226 3,559 8,858
354 2,783 8,630 8,997
1,949 8,420
7,374 20,771 21,918 22,079 Brooklyn
7,258 19,153 20,222
10,0006,245 14,540 16,696 18,317
10,413 10,494 12,224
8,767 9,484
7,235 7,207
0 685 738 985 1,337 1,319 1,491 1,406 1,718 1,833 1,777 1,779 1,821 2,556 2,457 2,460 Bronx
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

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TRENDS OVER TIME Cycling in the City

CYCLING BY MALE AND FEMALE +10% Ten Year Average

Annual Growth Rate of Female
Understanding the gap between male and female cyclists is important to the growth and
improvement of the bicycle network as a whole. Sources that track cycling by sex include
Commuter Cycling
Journey to Work, Citi Bike, and regular bike counts.
Average Annual Growth Rate
The gap in New York City closely mirrors the national trend of one female cyclist for every three
male cyclists (FHA, 2009). While there is still much to improve upon, the overall cycling (2016-2019)
population is growing and both the ACS and Citi Bike trip numbers show that growth among
female cyclists is outpacing growth among male cyclists.
+4.3% Male
American Community Survey data has been collected annually since 2005. Because the sample size is smaller for the ACS,
a rolling three year average is used for each year after 2000 (e.g. the 2019 number is based on the 2017, 2018, and 2019
+6.1% Female
surveys). Note: The Census Bureau specifically words questions to capture a person’s biological sex and not their gender
* The latest American Community Survey data that is available comes from 2019.

60,000
28% of all Citi Bike subscriber
Commute to Work – Rolling 3 Year Average from ACS by Sex *
trips (5.5 million) were made by
females in 2020
50,000
28%
30%
29%
25% 27% 40,000
25%
26%
30,000
26%
25%
24% 23% 24%
22% 20,000
70% 72%
25% 75% 73% 71%
75%
74%
74%
78% 76% 77% 76% 75% 10,000
75%

0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Image: Whitehall St, Manhattan

Male Female
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TRENDS OVER TIME Cycling in the City

CITI BIKE Despite the impacts of

COVID-19, 2020 Citi Bike
Since its 2013 launch, Citi Bike has grown to include more than
20,000 bikes at nearly 1,500 stations across Brooklyn, Queens, ridership reached 95%
Manhattan, and the Bronx, and New York City’s bike share of pre-COVID levels
system has seen over 130 million trips. When an ongoing
system expansion is completed in 2024, the service will cover 70 Year-Round Average
square miles, reaching half of New York City’s residential Citi Bike Trips per Day
population with over 40,000 bikes.
2018: 48,376
Bike share makes it more convenient for New Yorkers—even
those who don’t own a bicycle—to make short, point-to-point 2019: 56,504
trips by bicycle and has become an integral part of New York’s
transportation network.
2020: 54,459
Image: Fort Hamilton Pkwy, Brooklyn
Trips per day is averaged from January through December.

Average Citi Bike Trips by Month, 3-Year Trend 19.5 million Citi Bike trips in 2020
90,000

80,000

70,000

60,000

50,000

84,533
81,637
76,749
75,773
40,000

73,725
71,031

70,526
69,399

67,643
65,354

64,196

63,940

62,786
62,218

61,934

61,358
59,015

58,856

58,756
30,000

49,385
48,956
43,578
42,921

42,784
40,955

40,433

35,618
35,139

20,000

33,319
33,067
31,673

31,502

30,875
29,069
23,190

23,132

10,000

0
January February March April May June July August September October November December
2018 2019 2020 15
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TRENDS OVER TIME Cycling in the City

MIDTOWN – CROSSING 50TH STREET +6.5%

NYC DOT also counts cyclists entering and leaving the core at 50th
Street along the avenues 10-Yr Avg. Annual Growth
and Hudson River Greenway. This data was first recorded in 1980, and has been collected
annually since 1985, and three times per year—typically in May, July, and September— (2010 – 2020)
since 2007.

Midtown is the heart of the city where jobs and other activities are heavily concentrated, this +61%
density is both an opportunity and a challenge for growing cycling. Through Citi Bike and
the enhancement of the bicycle network, cycling in midtown has seen solid growth with the 5-Year Cycling Growth
potential for more. (2015 – 2020)
Note: Individual totals for each street are available in the appendix of document.

North-South at 50th Street Trips (7am – 7pm, Weekdays)

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TRENDS OVER TIME Cycling in the City

EAST RIVER BRIDGES +2.4%

Many New York City cyclists use the Queensboro, Williamsburg, Manhattan 10 Year Average Annual Growth Rate
and Brooklyn bridges to connect between the boroughs and the Manhattan
core. Comparing counts on these bridges from year to year is useful to show of Cycling on the East River bridges
trends in cycling use over time. The growth of Citi Bike and the launch of
NYC Ferry Service on the East River, however, has changed the role of 25,000
these bridges as an indicator of overall cycling activity, but they remain 22,126
important to understanding how cycling has evolved in recent years. 21,254
20,624
From 1980-2013, NYC DOT conducted periodic manual East River bridge
bike counts. In 2014, NYC DOT installed automated counters, which provide 20,000
continuous 24 hour data every day of the year. Non-holiday weekdays with 16,790
no precipitation from April to October are averaged for each bridge.

Note: From 1980 to 2013, a multiplier of between 1.25 and 1.59 was applied to 12-hour 7am-7pm bicycle counts. This
multiplier was developed from three years of automated count data collected since January 2014 and provides an
estimated 24 hour count. Individual totals for each bridge are available in the appendix of document. 15,000

East River Bridge Average 24-Hour Selected Weekday Bicycle Counts

10,000
7,033

4,926

3,072 3,040 5,000

2,232
1,635

Brooklyn Bridge Manhattan Bridge Williamsburg Bridge Queensboro Bridge Total

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 TRENDS OVER TIME Cycling in the City

TOTAL TRIPS BY BRIDGE +21% Growth in cycling on all

East River Bridges Percent Growth East River Bridges between 2019 and 2020
(2015-2020)
Cyclist Counts at East River Bridges
-30% Brooklyn Bridge (Total Trips Per Year – All Days)

+12% Manhattan Bridge 6,000,000

+22% Williamsburg Bridge

5,000,000
+35% Queensboro Bridge
4,000,000
+15% All East River Bridges
3,000,000

2,000,000

1,000,000

0
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Brooklyn Bridge Manhattan Bridge
Image: 2nd Ave, Manhattan
Williamsburg Bridge Queensboro Bridge

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Cycling in the City
APPENDIX

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APPENDIX
Appendix
DATA TYPES, SOURCES
AND LIMITATIONS
The ideal source of cycling data is robust, comprehensive, and goes far back
in time. In reality, information about cycling in New York City is very difficult to
collect due to the geographically dispersed nature of cycling activity, the wide
variety of trip types, and variations in ridership affected by weather. This brief
evaluates data from a variety of sources, each with its own strengths and
limitations.
Bike Counts are conducted at specific locations either by human observers
or automated machines. Typically, manual counts are conducted from 7am-
7pm on a non-holiday weekday with no precipitation. The counting season
lasts from April to October. The strengths of this approach are that these
numbers represent actual bike trips, and that in New York City, regular counts
have been conducted at some locations since as far back as 1980, including
the four East River bridges that connect Queens and Brooklyn to the
Manhattan core and at 50th Street in Midtown. The limitations are that the
geographic data points are limited; and that they emphasize longer distance,
inter-borough trips that are often taken by commuters. From 1980-2006, NYC
DOT performed manual East River bridge bike counts only once per year.
Starting in 2007, three counts were conducted annually in May, July, and
September. In 2008, the number of counts further increased to 10 monthly
counts at each location. In 2013, NYC DOT installed automatic counters on
the four East River Bridges that now collect data 24-hours per day, 365 days
per year, providing much more complete data set for these particular
locations.
Citi Bike Data accounts for every trip taken on a Citi Bike and therefore
provides very comprehensive data about the number of trips over time, as well
as detailed information about origin, destination, time, and distance traveled.
However, this data set is limited to cyclists using Citi Bikes and to trips that
begin and end within the Citi Bike service area, which—at this point in time—
covers only a small portion of the city’s streets. In addition, it is difficult to
determine how many Citi Bike trips are new cycling trips rather than trips that
would have been made using a personal bike anyway.
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Cycling in the City
As the years pass, these data will provide a strong sense of the magnitude of
change in cycling use. System expansion will allow these robust trip data to
capture cycling trends in new neighborhoods each year.
Bike Use Surveys collect information about cycling from samples of the
general population. These surveys do not typically provide information about
where people are cycling, but they are more geographically encompassing and
can more accurately gauge the number of people who are biking, including
those who may not ride past typical count locations or use bike share. The
following are two major sources of cycling survey data that are used in this
brief, one collected at the national level, and the second collected at a citywide
level.
National Surveys, including the Decennial Census and the American
Community Survey (ACS) ask respondents which mode of transportation they
use to get to work. Known as, “Journey to Work,” this data set was collected as
part of the long form of the Census from 1980 to 2000 and since 2005 is
collected as part of the ACS. The strength of this data set is that it can be used
to compare cities across the country but it also has several limitations. As part
of the Census, the sample size was large (approximately 1 in 6 commuters),
but it was only collected every ten years. As part of the ACS, the sample size
is smaller (about 2.75% of households, or 240,000 each month of the year) but
it is collected annually on a rolling basis. To address the smaller sample size,
this report uses a three year rolling average to determine change over time.
The Journey to Work data set is also limited in that non-commuting bike trips,
such as recreational or utility trips, are excluded. It also only accounts for the
primary mode of commuting and therefore does not necessarily include bike
trips made as part of multi-modal commutes or by occasional bike commuters.
Seasonal variations in commuting patterns can also affect the data;
respondents may answer the question differently depending on the time of year
they are asked.
Citywide Surveys such as the NYC DOHMH Community Health Survey and
the NYC DOT Mobility Survey ask respondents specific questions about their
bicycle use, providing information about cyclists who may only bike to work
occasionally or who regularly bike but not for commuting purposes. The
sample size for these surveys is smaller than the national surveys (between
1,000 and 10,000 people depending on the survey).
20
APPENDIX Cycling in the City

ESTIMATE OF DAILY CYCLING

The Daily Cycling Trip estimate begins with the Journey to Work data from
the American Community Survey. It provides estimates of how many people
use a bicycle for daily commuting trips to work. According to an average of
the last three years of Journey to Work data (2017-19), there are
approximately 52,700 bicycle commuters in New York City who take 105,400
trips daily (assuming that each commuter takes two trips). The New York
State 2009 NHTS Comparison Report (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 2012)
indicates that 18.2% of trips that New Yorkers take using personal vehicles
are commuting trips to work. This would indicate that potentially 579,000
(105,400/18.2%) total bicycle trips are taken each day. For the purposes of
this report, a more conservative assumption that bike commute trips are 20%
of total bike trips is used, resulting in an estimate of 530,000 daily cycling trips
in 2019.

The 2019 NYC DOT Citywide Mobility Survey provides an opportunity to

validate these assumptions. The survey includes a trip diary, where
respondents list every trip they took in the last seven days. According to the
survey results, which distinguish Citi Bike trips from other bike trips, 13.4% of
the respondent’s bike trips were taken using Citi Bike. Multiplying the monthly
total amount of 2019 Citi Bike trips by 13.4% and then adding that amount to
the monthly Citi Bike trips yields an approximate amount of total bike trips for
each month. Similarly, multiplying the total amount of Citi Bike trips in a year
by 13.4%, adding the total yearly Citi Bike trips, then dividing the result by 365
days yields an average daily amount of approximately 470,000.cycling trips.

Although, the methodology used for each of these estimates is quite different,
they both arrive at a relatively similar total number of trips. Therefore, it is
appropriate to apply the one-in-five commute cycling trips to total cycling trips
ratio assumption in order to establish estimates dating back to 1980. In
addition, the growth of the Daily Cycling Trip estimate generally follows a
pattern similar to the Midtown and East River Bridge bike counts.

Citywide Mobility Survey: https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/about/citywide-mobility-survey.shtml

Image: Franklin St, Brooklyn

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 NYCDOT nyc_dot nyc_dot NYCDOT

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 Cyclist Counts At East River Bridge Locations
24-Hour Weekday Counts

Ed Koch
Brooklyn Manhattan Williamsburg Grand
Count Year Queensboro
Bridge Bridge Bridge Total
Bridge

1980 866 N/A 221 548 1,635

1985 1,269 N/A 594 1,209 3,072
1986 2,144 N/A 636 1,243 4,023
1987 2,270 N/A 557 695 3,523
1988 1,374 N/A 427 526 2,327
1989 959 N/A 364 674 1,997
1990 1,495 N/A 376 362 2,232
1991 1,645 N/A N/A 959 2,604
1992 1,492 N/A 548 1,174 3,214
1993 1,659 N/A 547 1,130 3,335
1994 1,814 N/A 665 1,071 3,550
1995 2,384 N/A 1,006 1,536 4,926
1996 2,243 N/A 1,198 2,093 5,534
1997 2,361 N/A 1,548 1,252 5,161
1998 1,550 N/A 1,463 1,102 4,116
1999 1,542 N/A 1,521 1,306 4,369
2000 1,059 N/A 1,110 870 3,040
2001 1,205 207 1,200 1,063 3,674
2002 1,364 767 1,692 824 4,647
2003 1,458 929 2,101 2,120 6,609
2004 1,977 1,203 1,476 1,751 6,406
2005 1,876 1,165 2,438 1,555 7,033
2006 1,785 2,217 3,887 1,845 9,734
2007 (avg.) 2,105 1,846 3,333 1,967 9,251
2008 (avg.) 2,148 2,993 4,232 2,832 12,206
2009 (avg.) 3,051 3,550 5,630 3,402 15,634
2010 (avg.) 2,704 4,041 6,205 3,841 16,790
2011 (avg.) 2,981 4,952 6,719 4,288 18,941
2012 (avg.) 3,175 5,270 6,620 4,008 19,073
2013 (avg.) 3,418 5,678 7,597 4,243 20,935
2014 (avg.) 3,423 6,166 7,192 4,855 21,635
2015 (avg.) 3,435 6,223 7,290 5,178 22,126
2016 (avg.) 3,640 6,203 7,580 5,203 22,626
2017 (avg.) 3,157 6,573 7,272 5,406 22,408

2018 (avg.) 3,048 6,218 6,723 5,044 21,033

April 2,239 4,680 4,960 3,807 15,686
May 3,604 7,287 7,454 5,551 23,897
June 3,383 7,203 7,664 5,717 23,968
July 3,336 6,552 7,286 5,587 22,760
August 3,228 6,121 6,838 5,196 21,383
September 2,963 6,025 6,749 4,998 20,735
October 2,580 5,660 6,112 4,452 18,804

2019 (avg.) 2,558 6,008 7,089 4,968 20,624

April 2,318 5,495 5,729 4,048 17,590
May 2,589 6,031 7,384 4,984 20,988
June 2,716 6,334 7,770 5,319 22,139
July 2,607 6,099 7,159 5,270 21,135
August 2,528 5,936 7,156 5,146 20,767
September 2,654 6,358 7,766 5,355 22,132
October 2,492 5,806 6,662 4,655 19,614

2020 (avg.) 1,914 5,449 7,624 6,267 21,254

April 866 2,059 3,189 2,669 8,783
May 1,592 3,642 5,780 5,022 16,035
June 2,106 5,569 8,279 6,870 22,823
July 2,059 5,739 8,540 6,953 23,290
August 2,197 6,725 9,167 7,450 25,539
September 2,336 7,318 9,452 7,667 26,773
October 2,239 7,093 8,964 7,242 25,537

Notes:
1. Count is on a single mid-summer weekday from 1980, and 1985-2006, on three separate weekdays in
May, July, and September 2007, and from April to October after 2007.
2. There is no data available for the Williamsburg Bridge in 1991.
3. The Manhattan Bridge path opened to cycling in 2001.
4. From 1980 to 2013, a multiplier of between 1.25 and 1.59 was applied to 12 hour 7am-7pm bicycle counts.
This multiplier was developed from the three years of automated count data collected since January 2014
and provides an estimated 24 hour count.
5. From January 2014 onward, data was primarily automated and is an average of weekdays from each month
excluding holidays and days with precipitation.

Bicycle and Greenway Program

New York City 12-Hour Midtown Bicycle Count at 50th Street*
New York City Department of Transportation
Transportation Planning& Management

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1980 160 167 119 315 642 657 414 648 320 434 298 119 490 307 220 5,310
1985 16 264 307 558 372 533 772 607 349 478 151 384 617 204 5,612
1986 N/A 315 353 588 383 357 968 383 272 426 263 531 710 302 5,851
1987 30 409 477 649 427 568 860 520 871 361 294 658 543 346 7,013
1988 13 217 476 500 708 861 1,594 1,581 1,240 222 847 1,120 687 347 10,413
1989 16 213 575 802 549 657 1,369 1,188 1,079 932 561 946 767 277 9,931
1990 8 117 465 494 865 568 1,361 648 850 570 641 916 614 250 8,367
1991 219 262 339 921 113 892 1,186 574 1,026 1,069 586 653 606 400 8,846
1992 48 224 537 993 958 596 1,007 948 789 509 864 957 636 377 9,443
1993 7 375 632 1,182 682 776 1,343 1,211 839 965 641 816 698 379 10,546
1994 39 278 425 1,139 828 873 1,343 617 1,057 754 388 814 807 248 9,610
1995 47 402 477 810 1,043 885 1,064 609 1,159 693 474 1,477 753 469 10,362
1996 35 113 341 1,090 1,345 820 1,506 1,204 1,030 836 640 872 874 380 11,086
1997 31 136 298 1,214 856 666 1,090 932 1,397 871 855 1,311 933 521 11,111
1998 62 160 241 929 1,162 730 982 1,098 961 516 927 1,481 879 328 10,456
1999 152 491 522 874 726 759 1,608 587 744 751 737 857 666 425 9,899
2000 72 442 568 798 1,160 810 584 1,329 588 686 905 498 710 797 379 10,326
2001
2,113 11 149 213 754 1,443 412 627 1,132 427 609 597 382 447 354 312 9,982
(July)
2002
2,366 3 165 414 599 715 664 473 1,053 617 610 433 456 641 707 266 10,182
(July-Oct**)
2003
2,885 85 137 501 845 783 791 721 1,433 937 729 907 486 454 648 357 12,699
(July-Sept)
2004
2,686 42 323 238 963 1,138 739 557 1,358 810 623 756 345 711 645 343 12,277
(July-Aug)
2005
2,037 55 264 172 794 845 689 464 1,315 946 344 990 393 694 696 541 11,239
(July)
2006
1,958 36 535 325 1,069 1,212 1,144 1,029 1,182 1,683 1,018 1,175 808 962 829 632 15,597
(Sept)
May 2,404 63 370 514 1,048 656 1,040 761 1,327 825 688 1,210 649 795 764 430 13,544
2007*** Jul-Aug 2,392 87 387 403 866 598 899 618 941 596 891 1,037 776 936 711 245 12,383 13,205
Sept 2,963 129 229 467 847 1,337 873 502 1,002 971 1,129 884 787 549 624 395 13,688
May 2,384 38 311 483 949 742 525 594 715 1,285 596 778 650 985 667 278 11,980
2008 July 4,581 115 316 510 1,001 745 611 459 1,028 917 723 1,155 593 1,023 785 344 14,906 13,621
Sept 3,597 70 322 459 1,105 854 536 704 1,134 1,237 739 900 722 701 519 379 13,978
May 3,287 116 422 536 1,132 1,038 722 863 849 1,216 728 1,061 772 966 886 369 14,963
2009 July 5,520 68 451 538 1,191 1,171 771 756 1,367 1,131 813 694 727 1,067 1,013 777 18,055 17,329
Sept 5,440 87 479 642 1,385 1,226 894 741 1,360 1,144 979 898 801 1,170 1,045 677 18,968
May 3,985 108 558 657 1,277 1,525 1,065 949 1,445 894 858 1,389 1,004 1,201 970 638 18,523
2010 July 5,036 120 547 529 1,315 1,312 1,009 816 1,549 1,202 905 1,064 807 1,132 1,121 907 19,371 19,925
Sept 5,629 131 584 714 1,480 1,527 1,206 740 1,475 1,534 1,061 1,300 960 1,341 1,262 938 21,882
May 5,267 150 572 702 1,536 1,491 1,303 791 1,468 1,047 865 1,405 886 1,281 1,093 689 20,546
2011 July 5,486 109 529 556 1,353 1,432 674 895 1,635 1,323 914 1,084 1,028 1,214 1,245 1,122 20,599 20,841
Sept 5,676 120 600 399 1,555 1,618 1,238 867 1,584 1,390 831 831 930 1,292 1,386 1,062 21,379
May 5,573 102 309 474 850 914 N/A 749 1,209 1,458 916 877 529 951 1,092 987 16,990
2012 July 6,170 128 601 634 1,428 1,477 661 N/A 1,637 1,353 1,085 1,284 1,022 1,292 1,505 1,295 21,572 18,931
Sept 4,622 72 349 562 1,092 1,082 748 755 1,817 1,645 907 901 656 827 1,261 935 18,231
May 5,461 89 375 561 1,361 1,576 964 718 1,709 1,431 910 755 696 943 1,297 1,055 19,901
2013 July 6,255 132 399 410 1,696 1,470 1,195 750 1,814 1,197 1,037 1,047 704 1,149 2,088 1,435 22,778 21,105
Sept 5,308 N/A 606 509 1,469 1,833 965 782 1,563 1,049 972 697 842 746 1,553 1,742 20,636
May 5,224 103 607 683 1,565 1,809 1,167 833 1,651 1,205 1,077 1,639 916 1,324 1,365 1,519 22,687
2014 July 6,857 157 598 738 1,728 1,821 1,120 878 1,692 1,288 1,112 1,409 946 1,363 2,341 1,784 25,832 24,102
Sept 5,841 114 413 659 1,810 1,896 1,088 874 2,119 1,245 1,362 1,002 916 1,163 2,156 1,128 23,786
May 5,065 165 374 640 1,623 1,853 1,072 825 1,757 1,386 824 1,023 938 1,107 2,246 1,638 22,536
2015 July 5,425 116 477 675 1,579 1,917 1,112 785 1,608 1,221 1,211 1,103 896 836 1,588 1,469 22,018 23,233
Sept 5,429 131 436 719 1,878 2,257 1,104 1,037 2,147 1,405 1,075 1,274 1,093 1,078 2,375 1,707 25,145
May 6,532 176 553 783 1,974 2,093 1,522 643 1,819 1,377 996 1,314 1,197 974 1,975 1,648 25,576
2016 July 6,995 139 540 759 1,945 2,242 1,305 1,324 1,855 1,704 1,135 1,264 974 1,133 2,036 2,023 27,373 27,245
Sept 6,476 206 620 698 2,193 2,338 1,240 1,149 1,932 1,816 1,366 1,410 1,188 1,247 2,706 2,201 28,786
May 5,001 215 672 771 2,199 2,240 1,204 1,119 1,682 1,832 1,079 1,563 1,394 1,358 2,258 1,994 26,581
2017 July 7,615 154 576 910 2,177 2,518 1,220 1,413 1,639 1,802 1,110 980 1,339 1,399 3,321 1,867 30,040 29,364
Sept 6,519 228 688 857 2,301 2,467 1,495 1,490 2,060 1,957 1,394 1,500 1,313 1,716 2,863 2,623 31,471
May 6,638 233 968 818 2,366 2,523 1,661 1,330 1,739 2,105 1,194 1,603 1,468 1,639 2,548 2,116 30,949
2018 July 7,824 148 754 980 2,310 2,752 1,646 1,319 1,786 2,102 1,544 1,473 1,296 1,158 2,526 2,295 31,913 31,979
Sept 6,659 199 889 1,050 2,335 2,707 1,746 1,529 2,058 2,196 1,321 1,567 1,401 1,758 2,849 2,810 33,074
May 5,844 29 390 993 2,281 2,546 1,494 1,442 2,336 1,608 1,324 1,269 1,100 1,213 2,673 2,465 29,007
2019 July 5,987 127 551 960 2,287 2,517 1,659 1,406 2,323 1,731 1,394 1,393 1,332 1,155 3,052 2,433 30,307 30,511
Sept 6,136 131 583 1,039 2,259 2,636 1,668 1,433 2,691 2,039 1,440 1,399 1,447 1,566 3,312 2,441 32,220

2020 Sept 7,264 120 926 1,397 2,740 3,224 1,954 1,539 2,657 1,932 1,131 1,396 1,067 1,084 5,032 3,839 37,302 37,302

(a) Two-way Roadway

(b) Protected Bicycle Lane
* 7:00AM-7:00PM
** Monday Count
***Starting in 2007, counts were conducted three times per year (Spring, Summer and Fall)
****Because of COVID-19,counts were not conducted in May or July of 2020